18: Why Hidden Mold is Wrecking Your Health

 
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On today’s podcast, we’re talking about a topic that, quite frankly, kind of scares me. 😂 It’s time to talk about mold. My Operations Manager, Carly, who is also an RN & NTP, is joining us to discuss why indoor environmental toxins, especially mold, can keep us sick and giving us some of her key strategies for navigating mold illness and keeping your home healthy.

 

EPISODE 18: Why Hidden Mold is Wrecking Your Health

 

SHOW NOTES

(0:00) Intro

(0:42)  Introducing today’s topic: Mold & my guest, Carly Stagg. She’s an RN, NTP, and my  Operations Manager at the Christian Health Club. 

(3:15) What first got you interested in mold?

  • Being diagnosed with mold illness made all of Carly’s seemingly unrelated symptoms all make sense. It was the last piece of her health puzzle- and a trigger she never even recognized until several years into her health journey. 

(7:42) How can somebody know if mold could be affecting their health? What type of symptoms  do people often experience?

  • Mold has systemic effects- it causes inflammation throughout the body, it’s not just limited to respiratory issues. 

  • Common symptoms include fatigue, weakness and syncope, cough, skin issues, allergic rhinitis and itchy red eyes, chronic sinus infections. 

  • Common co-diagnoses/misdiagnoses: POTS & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

  • Classic “mold” symptoms include electric shock type of sensations, neuropathic type of pain- numbness, tingling (Carly’s back actually goes numb and tingly when exposed to mold longterm)- these are relatively unique and a red flag. 

(12:25) When does mold become a problem? Isn’t mold a natural part of the environment?

  • Mold becomes a problem when it grows unchecked in an imbalanced way- this usually occurs inside and in a water damaged building. 

      • Water+ warm temperatures + food source (papers, furniture, books, drywall)= mold growth 

        • Humidity levels 55%+

        • Poor ventilation- i.e. small confined space like a bathroom without an exhaust fan or window. 

        • OR buildings that are built “eco-friendly” have less air exchange with the outside because they are more energy efficient, this can leave the inside with less

(15:05) How does mold in food affect us?

  • Spoiler alert: Bleu cheese doesn’t cause mold toxicity! 

(16:48) How does mold affect the body?

  • It all starts when a person is exposed to a biotoxin (biotoxins are toxins produced by living things- this can be a mycotoxin, which molds produce, OR something like Lyme bacteria can produce biotoxins as well). 

    • 75% of the population has the ability to create antibodies against mold when inhaled. This group can be sickened by mold, but when they leave mold, they generally improve without substantial extra effort. 

    • 25% of the population is extra-sensitive and cannot form antibodies against it. This group (which includes Carly) will remain sick from mold exposure, even years later, if not treated properly. Requires a trigger- this genetic abnormality is not always expressing. This can be anything stressful on the body- etc. 

      • Systemic illness more likely in the genetically predisposed. 

      • Most people who don’t have genetic predisposition will have more respiratory-type and allergic symptoms, and it is less systemic as I’ll explain below.

  • Mold sets off an inflammatory cascade in the body. To summarize, it can...

    • Initiate the survival “fight or flight” response

      • Can decrease hormone levels to “graveyard” levels

    • Directly contribute to leaky gut and food sensitivities

    • Reduce the immune response leading to chronic infections or parasites that are unresponsive to treatment (think: Chronic Epstein-Barr)

    • Dysregulate the water balance in your body by disrupting the pituitary gland- leads to chronic dehydration and frequency of urination

    • Cause electric shock, pins and needles feelings, etc. in the body due to effects on the nerves

    • Decrease the amount of contrast you can see (as tested by visual contrast sensitivity testing)

(22:30) How can you test if you think mold is affecting your health?

  • Testing your environment

  • ERMI testing- The ERMI stands for Environmental Relative Moldiness Index. 

        • ERMI uses DNA analysis of dust in the building to determine the concentrations of the DNA of the different species of molds.  

        • It classifies molds based on Group 1 (more toxic) and Group 2 (less toxic). 

        • The scale ranges from -10 up to 20. 

        • Mycometrics OR EnviroBiomics

  • Mold inspector- use for a more comprehensive picture

  • For Florida people- Al Rabin from Certified Mold Assessments

(25:46) How to test your body

  • Visual Contrast Sensitivity (VCS) Test

    • Inexpensive screening test- ~11.95

    • Not foolproof; just helps narrow down. Positive doesn’t mean that mold is the issue (other things can cause this), negative doesn’t rule out mold exposure. 

  • Finding a practitioner to work with you- it is ESSENTIAL to work with a practitioner!

    • Shoemaker-Certified Practitioners

    • Functional medicine practitioners who are well-versed in mold

    • Testing

    • Remediation

      • Don’t bring all your stuff with you to a new clean environment- items need to be cleaned properly prior to doing this. 

    • Treatments

      • Won’t work unless you’re out of the moldy environment! 

      • Treatment typically involves taking binders to allow the immune system to tag and remove the mycotoxins.

      • Liver support and gentle detoxification also often recommended.

(38:15) Mold Myth-Busting

  • You have to see or smell mold in order for it to affect you. FALSE.

    • Different types of molds have different smells- “musty” odor doesn’t need to be present AND mold can grow equally as easily behind walls.

    • Mold inspector will help you find that “hidden” mold. 

  • The only type of mold that we need to worry about is stachybotrys “toxic black mold”. FALSE.

    • Stachybotrys is not the only toxic mold. Even if not considered a “toxic” mold, if something grows out of proportion, it can still cause harm to the body.

  • Mold is easily cleaned with bleach. FALSE.

    • Mold is a living thing and will secrete even more mycotoxins when it’s disturbed. Professionals will know how to set up a negative air pressure space to prevent mold spores from traveling outside the area. 

(41:55) 10 easy things you can do to prevent and protect against mold growth

(57:46) Anchor Questions

(61:30) Resources to learn more about mold. 

(63:15) Outro & Disclaimer

  

Thanks for listening! Have a healthy and blessed week!

XOXO,

Chelsea

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